Syrian Prez accuses Turkey of aggression as Iran attempts to ease tension

The pretexts Turkey uses to justify its aggression on Syrian territory are false, misleading, and have nothing to do with reality: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has accused the Turkish leadership of committing aggression against Syria, even as Turkey is planning a new offensive in northern Syria.

His remarks came during a meeting with visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who arrived in Damascus earlier on Saturday, mainly to ease the tension between Syria and Turkey, Xinhua news agency reported.

The pretexts Turkey uses to justify its aggression on Syrian territory are "false, misleading, and have nothing to do with reality," Assad was quoted by the state SANA news agency as saying.

Turkey's conduct has violated international law and principles, including the UN Charter, he added.

Syria has repeatedly rejected Turkey's plan to impose a buffer zone along the Turkish border in northern Syria.

Turkey has so far carried out several military operations against Kurdish militants in northern Syria, accusing them of having links to Kurdish separatist groups inside Turkey.

Before departure, Amir-Abdollahian said a goal of his visit is to mediate the Syrian-Turkish relationship as both countries have important ties with Iran, Iranian news agency IRNA reported.

The top Iranian diplomat's visit to Syria comes days after he met with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara, where he told a joint press conference that Iran "very well" understands Turkey's security concerns.

--IANS

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